Laura + Matthew
June 30, 2012
Brasstown, NC
Many Mountain Brides and Grooms hold guest fun and comfort about all else, and Laura and Matthew are no exception. From fin games to an interactive guest book, to wading pools filled with water so guests could cool off there dancing feet on a hot summer night in the Smokies, Laura and Matt thought of everything!!!
You’re going to love all of the pretty DIY details as well as the amazing emotional details of this barn wedding captured by Two Ring Studios and planned by Asheville Event Co. Be sure to scroll down for Laura’s Hindsight Advice!
Why a Mountain Wedding?
We’d been together for a long time (10 years!) when we decided to get married. My parents and a large portion of my family retired to a beautiful spot in western NC and it seemed like the perfect place to get married; not only were a lot of people we loved already there, but it was a beautiful natural setting, and we knew we wanted that.
Where did you find your inspiration?
I was one of the last of my friends to get married, so I’d seen a lot of good things in their weddings that I liked. I used Pinterest a bit, which is where I saw the wine charm favors and found the idea of my dress. t I also got a lot of inspiration from Offbeat Bride. That’s where I saw the Periodic Table of Seating and got the idea for the test tube centerpieces, which I just borrowed from school because I’m a science teacher and my husband is a philosopher of science; we met in a college physics class. The rest of my inspiration came from the farm itself; I wanted to complement the spaces there, not compete with them. I bought many of the flowers from Full Sun Farm outside of Asheville and my aunt and some volunteer friends did all the arrangements, supplementing with additional flowers and plants from the gardens, woods, and fields on the property.
What are You Glad You Did?
I was SO HAPPY on my wedding day, because I was marrying my best friend, and so many of our friends and family were there to celebrate with us. I’m glad we waited so long to get married; we are sure of each other, we know each other very well, and our friends and families also know each other — that made for a pretty epic party!
Anything you wish you had done?
- I wish that I had hired a photographer or designated a few friends to act like one for the Friday night welcome dinner, when everyone had a casual picnic dinner in the barn followed by dancing with some square dance callers.
- Same goes for the Sunday brunch the day after the wedding, which hardly got photographed by anyone at all because we’d all had too much fun the night before! I also wish I had eaten more hors d’oeuvres — they were delicious, but I got caught up in visiting with people and hardly had any!
Anything you wish you hadn’t done?
- I spent time making several different versions of games for the guests (four different cootie catchers for the tables and three different word games on the backs of the fan programs) and in retrospect, one of each kind of game would have been plenty fun and much less time for me.
- I assumed that the guest book would be self-evident and take care of itself; I should have appointed someone to encourage each table or group of people to visit it, because it ended up pretty patchy.
Anything you wish you hadn’t worried about?
- I worried a little bit about people getting to the farm, but it turned out that my directions were good.
- I had a LOT of help, most notably from Becca Stefan Knuth at Asheville Event Company, who was my wedding coordinator. She was super helpful with organizing vendors and arranging details, which was great, since I live in central PA.
- I also had an amazing caterer, Cindy King, so I knew the food was going to be fabulous. They were so great, on the day of my wedding I didn’t worry about anything!
What is your very best hindsight advice?
Choose wisely what is important to you, and what you want to prioritize. We wanted a wedding which would bring our friends and family together for a long weekend in a beautiful place, with a casual and celebratory atmosphere that was also very personal. We got that, with a lot of planning and a lot of help, and we couldn’t have been happier or had more fun.
Team Brasstown Wedding
- Photographer: Two Ring Studios (MSB recommended)
- Event Planner: Asheville Event Co.
- Musicians: Cabinet
- Dress Designer: Jim Hjelm
- Makeup Artist: Equani Spa
- Tuxedo and Mens Attire: Ralph Lauren
- Event Venue: Staurolite Farm